Absurd Bird to open second London restaurant

American South-inspired chicken restaurant Absurd Bird, part of the Splendid Restaurant Group, is to open a second site in Soho, London this August.

The restaurant will be located on Peter Street opposite Berwick Street market and follows the original site, which opened on Commercial Street, E1 in March.

The 40-cover, two-storey restaurant will have an open kitchen and basement bar. The interior, designed by LSM, will feature a mixture of yellow velvet banquettes, blue leather seats, dark wood panelled walls and zinc-topped tables.

Dishes on the menu include corn bread pudding, buffalo wings; sweet potato bake; spinach and artichoke dip; and jalapeño macaroni and cheese. The Soho restaurant will feature new dishes such as waffle cones with popcorn chicken and a selection of wraps.

In the basement bar, diners can choose from Absurd moonshine and Absurd lager from the Signature Brewery in Leyton, and a cocktail list by mixologist Soulshakers.

The Soho site comes after Absurd Bird’s announcement of its first opening outside the capital in Exeter’s £12m redevelopment plan, Queen St Dining.

A fourth restaurant is due to follow in the SouthGate development in Bath, alongside Thaikhun and Comptoir Libanais.

Mark Hall, group operations director of Splendid Restaurants, said: “Our second London site, while different in many ways from our flagship in Commercial Street, still retains its eclectic Southern menu with an interior exuding some old school Southern charm and we are confident it will trade well. Autumn launches planned for Exeter and Bath represent excellent regional opportunities for Absurd Bird, with prime locations in new dining quarters within high footfall shopping centres.”